Dubai: India and Pakistan could play each other in the UAE in the future following the resounding success of the two-week leg of the Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014 in the country.
That was the good news provided to sub-continental cricket lovers by Abdul Rahman Falaknaz, the chairman of the Dubai Cricket Council and partner of the Dubai Sports City. He was speaking after a meeting with Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the Minister for Culture, Youth and Community Development and Chairman of the Emirates Cricket Board.
Falaknaz also said that cricket facilities for the IPL teams will be available to them even after the first leg of the seventh edition of the tournament ends in Dubai on Wednesday.
“By hosting the IPL successfully, we have strengthened cricket relations with India and there is the possibility of an India-Pakistan tournament being played in the UAE. Shaikh Nahyan is impressed with the large turnout for the IPL and, when he took the parade around the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, spectators were shouting thanks to him for bringing the IPL to the UAE,” said Falaknaz, who said he has received positive feedback from all the teams and Sunil Gavaskar, the interim president of the BCCI for IPL, besides the chief executive officers of the teams.
“Frankly, we did not expect the tournament to be such a huge success here. We are grateful to the UAE government, immigration, police and Dubai Tourism for their full support to make this event a success. The event has turned out to be a window of opportunity for people to come and experience all that we have to offer,” he added.
“The IPL is cricket with entertainment and it is one of the strongest brands in the world today. So the event showed it has a got a clean environment, best of security and top-class hotels. What has impressed the teams the most is the facilities in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai and the good knowledgeable crowd that turned up for the matches,” added Falaknaz, recalling the long-standing relationship the UAE has fostered with India.
“For years we have had a strong relationship with India and have been living along with Indians here. In fact, until around 1967, the Indian currency was being used here. This event has also given an opportunity for the 123 nationalities living in UAE, who are interested in cricket, to watch this tournament. Every team has felt at home, be it Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai or Hyderabad, because for all teams there was huge support. It has been a fantastic 15 days and the success of it is very encouraging for the future,” said Falaknaz.
He added: “We will open all facilities for these teams as most teams have been very impressed with the facilities here. The teams are welcome to come and use the ICC Academy like England used it for training before going to Australia. The different types of pitches in the Academy have impressed all the teams.
“Shaikh Nahyan, who has taken special interest in the success of this tournament, is keen that all support should be provided to the teams.”
